Middle Relievers

There is absolutely no denying that the back end of the Angels bullpen has been one of the best in baseball this year.

Scott Downs and Jordan Walden have combined to create one of the most formidable setup-closer punches in the game today.

However, the Angels middle-inning arms and long relievers have been less than stellar.

The Angels bullpen as a whole (Including Walden and Downs) have held opposing batters to an impressive .233 average thus far in 2011. That ranks 10th among all bullpens in baseball.

Contrast that with the Angels .263 opponent batting average in the seventh inning (innings normally not thrown by Downs or Walden) and you can begin to see the contrast in efficiency among the Halos bullpen.

As the season progresses and the Angels starting pitching begins to wear thin, (it is only natural for pitchers to tire as the calendar flips to late summer/early autumn) they'll be forced to place a greater emphasis on their long relievers as well as the middle of their bullpen.

Hopefully for the Angels sake, they'll be able to acquire an arm to shore up the middle of their pen and keep themselves in the pennant race well into September.